Dancing
by GamblingDementor
Summary: 30 day OTP challenge: Day twenty, your OTP dancing. Zhu Li and Varrick's younger daughter wakes up during the night.


Whenever Kukicha woke up during the night and couldn't fall back asleep, or just woke up early, she had a special ritual. She would tiptoe downstairs to the kitchen, boil some water and brew some twig tea. She would take the teapot with her to the living room where she would choose a book from their library, pour herself a cup of tea, sip it and she would read in her favourite armchair till someone else woke up, usually her mother. Sometimes, Zhu Li would even grab a book too and cuddle next to her daughter, and they would read together while the house still slept. Those were the mornings Kukicha loved best.

This morning, she had woken up before dawn again. Her father usually said that she had trouble sleeping sometimes because her brain was so active and always thinking up ideas that it just couldn't bear eight hours of doing nothing. She would just laugh at that. She loved her father dearly but he could be a little silly sometimes. She lay awake in her bed for a few moments, not quite knowing what might have woken her up. She remembered some sort of music in her dreams, but all memories of that were quickly running away like water would escape her cupped hands. Standing up, she made her bed before putting on slippers and walking down the stairs.

She grabbed her favourite teapot, the brown one with a blue rim, and put it on the stove. A few minutes passed, during which Kukicha stared vaguely at the empty room, wondering what book she might read. She was really interested in plane engineering these days— she would have to ask her parents to visit the workshops of Varrick Industries some day to have a look at the way it all worked. Her mind deep in thought, as it always was, she did not notice the music until she made her way into the living room with her teapot in one hand and a cup in the other.

Her parents were already there, though they did not notice her. Her father had put on a beautiful waltz music on the record player. Her mother was standing beside him, holding him with a big smile on her face. The music was quite loud, and they did not hear Kukicha walk over to her armchair in the corner.  
>"Mrs Varrick Moon, would you do me the honor of this dance?"<br>"It would be my pleasure, Mr Varrick Moon."  
>They started swirling around the room in a flowing motion. Her father was leading the waltz and definitely knew what he was doing. A few times, he was just <em>this<em> close to hitting something in the rather tight space of their living room, but nothing ever fell or broke. Her mother looked positively extatic as she looked deep into his eyes, laughing out of sheer joy.  
>"What an amazing dancer you are, Mr Varrick Moon!"<p>

"My wife taught me everything I know."

"Who is this wife?"

"Only the most amazing woman in the universe."

"It looks like you have good tastes, then, Sir."

"The most exquisite in the world."

He leaned in to kiss her and Kukicha cheered and clapped at that.

Varrick turned around immediately, his eyes widened.

"Kukicha! You can't spy on us like that, sweetheart! What if I was going to…"

He stopped right in his tracks when Zhu Li elbowed him in the ribs.

"Going to… hum… tell your mom about your surprise birthday present?"

She whispered something into his ear but Kukicha couldn't hear from where she sat.

The music was still going but her parents had stopped dancing. They were staring at her, still holding each other close. Her mother's eyes were twinkling with joy and her smile made Kukicha happy herself.

"Please, don't stop dancing. You're beautiful."

She poured herself a cup of tea and started sipping it, hugging her knees, comfortably huddling into her armchair.

"Your mother is the beautiful one, darling."

They started waltzing around the room again. They moved as one, as a powerful wave all around the room.

"I mean your love is beautiful."

"Thank you, sweetie."

Zhu Li gave her a look that was so filled with tenderness Kukicha wondered if it was meant for her or for Varrick.

"Hey, who's having a party here?"

Zu and Lee poked their head through the doorway and smirked.

"What are you dorks doing?"

"Dork? Are you calling me a dork, son? I don't see _you _dancing with the most beautiful woman in the world!"

Kukicha giggled. That actually managed to shut Zu up. Lee snorted.

"You're going senile already, Dad."

"Lee, don't say things like that to your father."

"No, Mom, he's right. Barely one kid out of the house and you're turning nuts, dancing in the middle of the night!"

"I'll have you know I married my soulmate today. I'm celebrating!"

Zu and Lee sat on both arms of Kukicha's armchair, staring at the show their parents were giving them.

"See, what I told you? He's gone bonkers. You didn't marry anyone today, Dad."

"Yeah," Lee completed. "You've been married for what…"

"_Twenty years to the day_, kids!"

"We're celebrating our anniversary," Zhu Li said with a smile, letting out a giggle when he swept her off her feet.

"I think it's cute," Kukicha said."

"Of course you'd say that, Cookie. You think everything's cute."

"No, no," Varrick interrupted. "She's right. It is cute."

"Look at you, Dad, one kid out of the home, and you're already going into Grandpa mode."

"Can't wait to see him when he's really becoming a grandpa though."

"Not gonna happen with Aricka, ha ha ha."

The twins went on to sneer and laugh at their parents for a long time, but somehow, it did little to disturb them from their dancing. They swirled and swirled all around the living room for a very long time, in fact, they only stopped when the record was over. All the while, they only had eyes for each other. One thing was sure to Kukicha at least. Her parents were the happiest couple she had ever seen.


End file.
